Legislation eases penalties for minor traffic violations

During the meeting, the draft law “On Amendments and Additions to the Code of Administrative Responsibility” was reviewed in its first reading.

According to Jahongir Shirinov, Chairman of the Committee on Combating Corruption and Judicial-Legal Issues, Article 36 of the Code will be supplemented with a new clause, stipulating that:

“When a traffic violation is recorded via photo or video equipment, an administrative penalty must be applied within one month from the date of the offense. If an appeal is filed, it must be enforced within one year. Otherwise, the fine will not be valid.”

This means that if a traffic violation detected by a camera or radar is not processed within one month, the penalty will no longer apply.

The session also discussed the practice in several foreign countries where, in addition to fines, penalties such as “verbal warnings” and “official cautions” are used. These are particularly applied to first-time, low-risk administrative offenses. In such cases, instead of imposing fines, violators are warned and informed of the social consequences of their actions, which has proven to be an effective preventive measure.

The draft law proposes introducing the concept of “administrative warning” into Uzbekistan’s Code of Administrative Responsibility. This measure would apply to minor violations related to traffic safety.

Jahongir Shirinov explained that a one-time warning per year could be issued for the following minor infractions:

• Not wearing a seatbelt while driving;
• Failure to pass technical inspection;
• Lack of required safety equipment in the vehicle;
• Use of a mobile phone or monitor while driving;
• Violations of parking and stopping rules;
• Breaching mandatory insurance requirements;
• Pedestrians or other road users disobeying traffic rules.

He also clarified that crossing road markings will not be recorded by traffic cameras.

The legislation is designed to make car use more convenient for citizens and address various long-standing issues in the sector. The draft law was approved in its first reading by members of the parliament.

As a preventive measure, the “warning” mechanism has already been adopted in countries such as Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, and Italy. These warnings are used for violations that do not pose harm to individuals’ health, life, property, or the environment. Uzbekistan’s draft law, developed in line with the President’s instructions, aims to introduce the same concept into the national administrative penalty system.